Migrant drownings add hundreds to Libya death toll

GENEVA (Reuters) - Fleeing conflict in Libya has become almost as dangerous as staying behind to fight as hundreds of desperate migrants have drowned in a matter of weeks on unseaworthy vessels trying to cross the Mediterranean.

Aid agencies say witnesses had reported a vessel carrying between 500 and 600 people had foundered late last week near the Libyan capital Tripoli. Many bodies had been seen in the water, although it was unclear how many had drowned.

Even before, an estimated 800 people had gone missing from March 25 after trying to escape Libya, according to the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). Most of those trying to flee were from sub-Saharan Africa.

"The tragic truth is we will probably never know how many people drowned in this latest tragedy," Jean-Philippe Chauzy, a spokesman for the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) said on Tuesday. "That is the reality of the crisis in Libya."

The UNHCR also said the full death toll was unknown, while other UN officials said they could not give precise numbers for the death toll in fighting in Libya, which is thought to run into thousands.

Media have quoted Gene Cretz, the U.S. ambassador to Libya until the revolt started, as saying he had seen figures of between 10,000 and 30,000 but that it was impossible to know if they were accurate. Other estimates published earlier in the conflict have put the death toll from the fighting in the low thousands.

APPEAL TO EU, NATO

But future deaths could be prevented.

"We are reiterating our appeal to European states to urgently put in place more reliable and effective mechanisms for rescue at sea on the Mediterranean," UNHCR spokeswoman Melissa Fleming told a news briefing in Geneva.

"We have been in contact with officials at NATO... We have appealed to them at least to be aware that there will be more and more boats in distress."

The Italian and Maltese coast guards cannot carry the burden alone, Fleming added.

Many of those who have managed to cross the Mediterranean safely have landed up on the tiny Italian island of Lampedusa or neighbouring Linosa.

The IOM said more than 10,000 had arrived on the islands since unrest erupted in northern Africa earlier this year, including roughly 2,000 last weekend alone.

Many were disorientated and confused, including one Somali woman, who managed to swim to back to the Libyan coast after escaping from the vessel which sank. She lost her four-month-old baby and then was driven on to another boat.

Some migrants also said they had been forced on to boats by Libyan soldiers who fired warning shots and others said that although they had not officially had to pay for their crossing, they had been stripped of their possessions and savings.

NATO on Monday denied a report alliance units had failed to help a drifting boat carrying African migrants from Libya, leading to the death of 62 people from thirst and hunger.

(Additional reporting by Stephanie Nebehay in Geneva and Christian Lowe in Algiers; editing by Giles Elgood)